⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5 stars)

The Brave and the Reckless is a cowboy romance set in the wild west and a theme park to boot, and the setting alone had me immediately intrigued. Between the costumed performances, dorm style cast housing, and a dose of enemies to lovers tension, it was giving drama in all the best ways. Think cowboy cosplay meets camp chaos. I mean that in the most fun way possible, and while I did enjoy this book, it was not without its issues.

Noah was easily the highlight for me. Broody, mysterious, and utterly smoking in his masked cowboy role, he was everything I love in a grumpy MMC. His rough around the edges charm and guarded heart made every interaction worth reading.

Esra, on the other hand, was a bit of a struggle. While I appreciated the attempt to give her depth through her chronic illness and her background of being overly protected, her immaturity and naive decision making didn’t fully land for me, especially considering she had made it as far as med school. I kept wanting her to grow more as the story went on, but her development felt a bit stunted.

Despite that, the romance had its moments. The tension between Noah and Esra was solid, and there were definitely some spicy, well written scenes that if you love oforced proximity and secret relationships, you will enjoy. Dyer’s writing style is engaging and easy to fall into, which helped balance some of the character issues for me.

My biggest wish? A little more cowboy grit and a little less behind the scenes acting drama. The setting had so much potential to lean into that Western vibe, and I would’ve loved more of that dusty charm.

This was a fun, unique take on the cowboy romance genre with an inventive setting and some memorable moments. While it wasn’t a perfect fit for me personally, I can absolutely see this finding a happy home with people who do enjoy quirky, character driven romances with a touch of heat and heart.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dilan Dyer, and Ballantine/Dell for the eARC of this book.